Save and Conserve

I went to see that new documentary about Iraq No End In Sight over the weekend. What a total downer. Not only was the entire push towards war a massive blunder ... but literally every Bush administration decision post-"Mission Accomplished" was an utter catastrophe.

I can't understand why they decided to disband the Iraqi army. Could any good have come from pissing off a couple hundred thousand armed Iraqi men by rendering them occupied and unemployed? How does that decision get made? It really does look like there was an element within the Bush administration that wanted chaos in Iraq. Why else would they install a recent college grad with zero experience in urban planning as the new Baghdad transportation planning chief? Couldn't they at least find a recent college grad with a degree in urban planning? Was that really too much to ask?

Again, I can't understand the Bush administration's motivation for making these inane decisions. What else but chaos could have ensued? In my opinion, not much. Which leads me to think they got what they wanted.

During the immediate post-flick reflection period, I wondered why I go to see these types of movies and read similar types of books and articles and websites. What's my motivation? I mean, I come out of these documentaries (another one that immediately came to mind was An Inconvenient Truth) and I'm not sure what to do with the information. What can an individual, concerned American citizen do? Sure, I have this little blog that I can use to outlet thoughts and perhaps influence other people's thinking ... but aside from that, I feel pretty much powerless.

Maybe this explains generally high levels of apathy in the US among citizens about these big issues. Maybe Americans are just realists deep down inside. Maybe they've done the calculation subconsciously and realize that since they're not in the driver's seat, there really isn't much point to investing time and energy and thought into these problems.

It's a confusing world we live in, that much I know. Other than that, I'm certain the world will continue to experience change. Sinking time and energy into thinking about climate change, peak oil, Iraq, geopolitics, etc ... I'm not sure what it buys me right now.

Posted by tom c. at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have long been aware of the Federal tax credit available to purchasers of hybrid vehicles ... but I didn't realize that the IRS has a plan for the phase-out of those credits. Apparently, after an auto maker sells 60,000 units of any hybrid model that qualifies for the tax break, the credits begin to evaporate for future buyers.

For example:

Honda Motor Company has sold more than 60,000 hybrid vehicles that qualify for the federal tax credit, so the tax credits for the automaker's hybrid vehicles will be cut in half as of January 1st, 2008.

Toyota - due to success with the Prius - is even further down the road to zero federal tax relief. Tax credits on Toyota hybrids end on October 1st.

While this policy will surely help other manufacturers catch up to Toyota and Honda, it seems less helpful to us consumers. Shouldn't we get the tax break and the model we want? Or am I being unrealistic here?

Either way, for prospective hybrid buyers, you should be aware of the federal policy with respect to tax credits, so visit the IRS website or do some more digging before you hit the dealerships.

Posted by tom c. at 9:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was down on the North Fork of Long Island over Labor Day weekend. On Labor Day morning I stumbled across this Newsday article about a Sag Harbor, NY resident's attempts to install a private wind turbine on his house. To sum it up: the town review board denied this guy the permit to install wind energy because of NIMBYism.

These people need to get their heads out of the sand. As the article points out - and as I witnessed firsthand yesterday on the shore of the Peconic Bay where winds were steadily ripping at about 20mph - the eastern tip of Long Island has a pretty decent wind resource available to harness at the residential level. The terrain is totally flat and there are plenty of open spaces where turbines could be installed. However, eastern Long Island is also over-loaded with wealthy, energy-ignorant people who don't care about their electric bills or about a reduction in energy footprint. They are more concerned with surface issues ... like how a wind turbine will destroy a view (it wouldn't - they just haven't thought the issue through and reject it due to preconceived notions).

As the article also points out, wind has been leveraged as a source of power on Long Island for a long time. I was within 20 feet of a 50 foot tall windmill this weekend. The windmill is used to power a water pump. Residents of areas that are amenable to wind energy need to take a breath, and think before they reject ideas like private wind turbines. We need to stop reading these types of articles in the papers around this country. If we don't start getting smarter, we're going to regret it in the long run.

Posted by tom c. at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)